Research: Analysis of a teaser trailer 2 - Joy (2015)

Institutional Information
Joy is a 2015 biographical comedy drama film starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper. It was directed by David O. Russell and was produced by John Davis, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon, Ken Mok and David O. Russell. The production companies were Fox 2000 Pictures, Davis Entertainment Company, Annapurna Pictures and TSG Entertainment. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film's budget was $60 million, and it took $101.1 million at the box office, making a profit of $41.1 million.

Synopsis
Joy Mangano is a divorced mother of two and an aspiring inventor. Inspired by true events, Joy tells the story of her mission to make people's lives easier, and sell her new invention, Miracle Mop on the shopping channel QVC. Joy is a very strong character, and her resilience shines through. 

Mise en Scene

Joy titles, showing the juxtaposition of black and white

There are many different settings in this trailer, due to the movie following Joy's life. However, the main colour used is white to reflect Joy doing something good. It also connotes snow, and so links to the film being based and released around Christmas time. In this case, white might not necessarily represent innocence as it is made clear to the audience that Joy is quite a strong and opinionated character, with huge ambitions. The lighting varies, but is mostly low key to represent Joy being a "normal" and grounded person who has worked for her position. At the start, a three person shot is used. The third person is out of focus to emphasise the two closest to the camera. This almost makes it a two person shot. The lighting is interesting here because the audience are shown a silhouette of the two characters. The silhouette shows the height difference between the characters. As one of them is an adult and the other a child, it hints at the power inequality. Despite this, the proxemics of the shot suggest that the characters are familial and close. Throughout the trailer, the audience are introduced to many people, but with her being the titular character, the main focus is on Joy. She is wearing standard costumes which are not suggestive of her being upper class, and so links to how she had to work hard to reach her position and has had a hard life in some respects.

An example of lighting

Sound

The trailer uses a both non diegetic and diegetic sound as appropriate. It also gives the audience variety, perhaps increasing the overall effectiveness of the trailer. The first 7 seconds of the trailer uses a sound bridge (diegetic, in the form of dialogue) to add anticipation for the trailer. The line "listen to me" also acts as an imperative for the audience, they become more engaged. A sound bridge can also make the audience want to watch because the speed at which the trailer is progressing feels faster. Then at 0:12 a non diegetic soundtrack is used to give the trailer another dimension. However, it is overlapped by the continuing diegetic sound, and the slow pace puts emphasis on what the character is saying, it is parallel to the music and footage onscreen. 

At 0:29, a new sound is used, the text on screen being in time with the chime of the bells. This new music could perhaps indicate a disequilibrium and progression, as the trailer is becoming more fast paced. The lyrics of the songs in this trailer are important as they act like a caption for the footage. The line "You can't always get what you want" further conveys how Joy faced hardships in her life. Furthermore, the church bells and choirs connote the festive and wintery season, where a lot of the footage used in this trailer  is set. At 0:55, this fades into a line (short voice over) to act as a turning point for the trailer, mirroring the progression of Joy. 

At 1:00, there is non diegetic music over the action on screen. This is fast paced, parallel to the footage and perhaps reflects how Joy has realized that she must go through everything regardless of how hard she has worked to achieve success. The speed of the music helps to emphasise the many things that have happened in her life, and the increasing volume suggests that it will eventually reach a crescendo. The rhythm of the music could also mimic the sound of production, linking to Joy being an inventor. Again, this is parallel to the action on screen.

At 1:28, the trailer returns to diegetic sound in the form of gunshots. This loud noise could shock the audience and act as a crescendo for the sound. The absence of music at this point helps put emphasis on the characters name. The sound then returns to the music introduced at 1:00, perhaps suggesting a predominantly uplifting story. Lastly, the names of cast members are revealed in sync to the rhythm of the music, helping them to have more impact.

Editing

The footage at the start is more linear than the rest, to reflect what Joy is being told about what events are going to occur in her life. Rather than using fade to black, the trailer uses jump cuts to show different points in the film. This indicates that the narrative is fast paced. A lot of the shots are shown for less than a second in the second half of the trailer to reflect how Joy's life is changing.

Camera 
Timeline of shots
0:00-0:05 - INSTITUTIONAL LOGOS
0:06-0:10 - Two person close up
0:11-0:14 - medium close up (zooms in) close up
0:15-0:17 - close up
0:18 -0:20 - long shot
0:21- 0:23 close up (pans) to medium close up
0:24 -0:28- close up
0:29 - 0:30 - TITLES
0:31-0:32 -long shot (zooms) 
0:33-0:34 -close up
0:35- long shot
0:36 - long shot
0:37 TITLES
0:38- medium close up (switches to POV)
0:39 Close up POV shot
0:40 medium close up
0:41 XCU
0:42 Close up
0:42-0:43 medium long shot
0:44 - long shot
0:45 medium close up
0:46 close up
0:46-0:47  long shot
0:48 - medium close up
0:49- two person medium close up
0:50 FADE TO BLACK
0:50 -close up
0:51 - close up
0:52-0:53 - close up
0:54-0:59 - close up
1:00 - TITLES
1:01 - Close up
1:02 -1:03 medium long shot
1:04- close up
1:04 - medium close up
1:05- close up
1:06 - medium shot (zooms) to close up
1:07-1:08 - medium long shot (zooms) to medium close up
1:08 mid shot
1:08-1:09 - two person mid shot
1:10 - close up
1:10-1:11 three person tracking shot
1:12 - mid shot(s)
1:13 - three person mid shot
1:14 - medium long shot
1:14 - three person medium long shot
1:15 - close up shot(s)
1:16 - TITLES
1:17 - medium close up shot
1:18 - medium long shot
1:18 TITLES
1:19 - two person close up
1:19 - medium close up
1:20 TITLES
1:21-1:22 - close up
1:23 - long shot
1:23 - medium shot
1:24- close up
1:25 - close up
1:25- two person mid shot (low angle)
1:26 - two person mid shot
1:27 - close up
1:28 - medium close up
1:29 - close up
1:30-1:35 - close up
1:36-1:47 TITLES
1:48-1:58 (YouTube) - subscribe/connect with movie
* where timings overlap, the shot lasts for less than a second

Camera
Analysis of shots

As there are so many, I am not going to analyse all of them. Instead I have chosen a just a few shots.

Close up

This close up shot from 0:15 is effective because it conveys to the emotion of Joy. She looks quite subdued and so it fits with the diegetic sound of dialogue that is carried over the first 27 seconds of the trailer, as the voice is quite clear and authoritative. The fact that she is in the foreground (the other character is blurred out) emphasises the fact that she is the protagonist in the film.

Medium long shot

This medium long shot shows to the audience how business minded one of the characters is through his body language and gestures. These are suggestive of going through the motions and contuinuing, which is what Joy has been doing her entire life, so connects to her determination. The mise en scene is also significant in this shot, the character's costume, for example the fact that he is wearing a tie and jacket could reveal he holds a position of authority.

Three person mid shot

This shot shows how much Joy making the Miracle Mop means to all of those involved. The mid shot allows the audience to see the emotion that Joy is experiencing, perhaps evoking sympathy for her. However, unlike ordinary mid shots from the waist up, we can also see her being embraced by her family. We learn from the trailer that Joy perhaps has strained relationships and a difficult time, so this is significant, hence creating a range of audience pleasures.

Evaluation and Critical Reflection
I think this is a very effective trailer that successfully conveys the genre and narrative of the film. It is less cryptic and longer than some teaser trailers I have seen, but it still manages to create hype and anticipation for the film. I especially like how all the clips and titles are in time with the music. Speeding up the editing in the second half makes it seem more exciting. If I was being really critical, I would say that they could use more extreme close ups as there was a lot of close ups. Perhaps having a shot of Joy's eye would further convey her emotion.